Better Than Meat
by Esso
Summary: AU Tokka oneshot... complete with ice cream! Yum.


A/N: This is totally AU, as in the 4th wall was destroyed and they got transported to our time...fun stuff, right? No, I don't own any of these peoples ;) Duh. This is just some short stuff I wrote for a bud of mine.

* * *

Toph was bored, as usual. She was the only one in the room, she knew. Everybody else was out doing something, everybody else in their perfect love story.

"Hey, Toph, guess what?" Sokka's voice almost made Toph jump right out of her skin. "Zuko's letting me borrow the Mustang! Wanna come?"

Toph couldn't believe her luck! Sokka was pretty much asking her on a date! But she couldn't let him know she was excited. "Why me?"

"Because it only has two seats and you're the first person I saw." Okay, maybe not exactly a date. "So, are you coming or not?"

"Yeah." It wasn't like she was going to pass up the opportunity to be with Sokka- alone. She followed the sound of his footsteps and the vibrations in the earth all the way down to the first floor, then outside to the convertible. The shiny red car was Zuko's most prized possession aside from his…erm, relationship. Toph couldn't believe he'd let a hooligan like Sokka borrow it.

Sokka twirled the key ring on his finger, whistling as he waited for Toph. "Get in."

"Okay, okay. I was getting there," Toph grumbled as she made her way to the other side of the car and got in. Sokka followed suit and turned the keys in the ignition. The engine gave a satisfying roar as Sokka slammed his foot down on the pedal.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Toph screamed as they sped along the country road. "This is great!" She tried to forget about the uncomfortable fact that she was sitting next to Sokka.

Sokka smiled- even though Toph couldn't actually see it. He absentmindedly turned on the radio.

"Hey Toph, wanna get ice cream?" Sokka asked as they neared Charlie's Magical Ice Cream Shack, a local favorite.

"Sure, why not?" Toph shrugged. This time, she wasn't faking the apathy. Sokka stopped the car and they both got out and walked to the counter. After a few minutes of Sokka looking over the menu, he placed his order.

"I want a chocolate shake," he said, sliding a five dollar bill across the counter. The man soon came back with the shake. "Um, can I get another straw?" Sokka asked awkwardly. The counter dude grunted and handed over the straw.

"Why didn't you order another one?" Toph hissed as they left the counter.

"I didn't have enough money."

"Then why are there coins jingling in your pocket?"

"Hey, I've got some loose change. Not enough to buy a shake. And what's wrong with sharing with me?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting about Toph's blindness.

"N-nothing," Toph stammered, sitting down on the ground a little way away from the ice cream store and the random customers.

Sokka sat down next to her, holding the shake in his hands and offering Toph her straw. Both of them started drinking at the same time and, on accident, their lips touched for two seconds before they both yanked themselves away.

"Sorry 'bout that," they both said at once. Awkward laughter was the only response from either.

"Why are you sitting so close?" Toph asked, trying to sound irritated.

"So I can reach the milkshake," Sokka explained. "Milkshakes are one of those things that are hard to get a hold of. Like meat. And girls."

Toph wasn't exactly flattered to be compared to meat. "And boys," she mumbled.

"Hey!" Sokka exclaimed. "I'm not meat!"

"Yes, you are. But we aren't cannibals. And you basically compared me to meat, too."

Sokka frowned as he considered this. "Well, girls _are _hard to get a hold of…" Then, he suddenly remembered who he was talking to. "Oh! Sorry! Forgot you were a girl…"

"You forgot I was a girl?" Toph was shocked. Literally.

"No, no, I didn't forget you were a girl, I-"

"That's what you said."

"I meant that I kinda forgot who I was talking to, I guess."

Toph wasn't satisfied with this explanation, but she let it go. "So we're both meat, then."

"Yup." There was an awkward silence. Neither had drunk any of the milkshake since that first sip. "You want more milkshake?" Sokka inquired randomly.

"Nah." Toph was unhappy that she had let her feelings go unspoken again. She felt so stupid for having them, and for falling in love with Sokka of all people. Sokka: the cactus juice-drinking moron who was somehow still attractive despite his ponytail- er, warrior's wolf tail.

"Boys _are_ hard to get a hold on. Like fish."

"So now I'm a fish?" Sokka raised an eyebrow again.

"Fish is a type of meat," Toph replied.

"Wait…do you mean I'm hard to get?" Sokka was confused at this point, since he was actually thinking for once.

"Um…yeah." Toph had decided that she wouldn't hide this any longer, even if it meant embarrassing herself for all eternity.

"Whoa," Sokka breathed. "I was totally not expecting that."

This depressed Toph even more. "Well, then, I-"

"Oh crap, I guess I said the wrong thing again, didn't I?"

Toph ignored him and slid her hand across the grass, until she felt the warmth of Sokka's hand underneath hers. She grabbed it in what she hoped was a gentle manner, keeping their hands pressed together against the ground. She felt surprise ripple through him, but it was her turn to be surprised when he didn't jerk away.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, still not moving.

"I'm blind," Toph said, exasperated. "I can't see."

"Oh. Right." Sokka laughed uncomfortably. "It…just looked like you were staring."

"You weren't expecting me to stare after what I just did?"

"I dunno." Toph was immediately aware of why Sokka was renowned for his scintillating conversational skills.

"Aw, come _on_! Are you in love with me or not?"

"Erm…" was Sokka's response. Toph's heart sank. She had just gone and made a fool of herself for nothing. But then she felt…

Sokka's mouth pressed against hers.

She was shocked, to say the least. Shocked, however, didn't necessarily mean unhappy. Toph wondered how long Sokka had been oblivious to the fact that she liked him. Did it really take a girl to get in his face and compare him to meat and grab his hand and ask him flat out to make him realize she was in love? Toph honestly didn't care.

It wasn't a particularly long kiss, since they were sitting in front of Charlie's Magical Ice Cream Shack. But it was enough to banish all of Toph's doubts.

"Wow," Sokka said, "you're nothing like meat, Toph. Except for one thing." Toph raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "You're delicious."

This dimension was obviously having an effect on his brain, but she kissed him again anyway.


End file.
